Maiden of the East
by SoaringGryphonProductions
Summary: The City of Acre has it's own War Maiden. A city known as a trading hub and a link between the east and the west, That War Maiden's name is Wilhelmina, and she is not like the other War Maidens, and one is going to find out as she ventures her army to the city walls.
1. Chapter 1

**Lord Marksman and Vanadis: Maiden of the East**

 **Chapter 1: Half-Blood (Order of the Griffon)**

War is a terrible thing conceived by man. One should wish for the streams to flow clean with water for the people, instead flow red with their blood. Some of that blood was shed by my own blade. By the power of my Dragon Gear, my shield protects the innocent, and my blade is the guiding light when all else fade. My name is Wilhelmina, Lady of Acre.

I am a War Maiden. I am not one to flaunt my body even if I am comparable to a friend of mine named Sofy. Many summers have tanned my skin, and my eyes are as warm in color as tea. I sport a boyish cut to my brown hair to make putting on a chainmail coif that much easier. My armor is steel plate and chainmail. At the top, I wear a chainmail coif

A turban in a shade of dark blue with a face cover to protects myself from the sandstorms in and around my land. My armor is steel plate covering my arms to my hands, and from my thighs to my feet. Next is a chainmail hauberk with short sleeves protecting my chest, back and waist. Over my chainmail is a surcoat with my coat-of-arms in front.

I had my dark blue surcoat cut to expose my armored thighs and hips to make it easy to mount and dismount a horse. In my left hand I carry what is called a heater shield, and in my right hand is a longsword I named 'Hornisse'. My sword is forty-nine and a quarter inches long with thirty-seven and three-quarters being the blade, a formidable sword.

The blade width two and one sixteenth inches at the guard, tapering to one inch and four inches from the point. The cruciform cross-guard is eight and one-eighth inches ending at a perfume cap pommel. There are things I have pride in as much as I have in myself and my skill. One is in my city. My city is a trading hub and port between east and west.

"Lady Wilhelmina, an army approaches the Northern Wall!" said a soldier, kneeling and catching his breath before me

"Calm yourself, my good man, how many do they number?" I asked, getting up to help the soldier up to his feet

"At least three-thousand with mounted knights, Lady Claramond is seeing to it that the defenses are strengthened," he replied,

The Kingdom of Acre is known for it's gender diversity among soldiers. I feel a woman can fight, and hold her own in battle, as well as a man can. A footsoldier's armor is very similar to my own. The kettle helm is the popular choice of helmet for soldiers. For archers, the bow is the English Longbow. Our weapons vary in type from the spear to the axe.

The spear is seven and half feet long, and, including the socket, the spearhead is a little over a foot long. My soldiers wear a coat-of-plates protecting the shoulders, upper arms, chest and midsection. They wear plate armor in the same areas as me. Their swords are similar to mine, but made a bit smaller for single-hand combat and paired with a shield.

The axe and mace are alternatives to other weapons used by soldiers and knights. The axe comes in a single hand and two handed form. The two handed form is often used by the infantry. The head is a forged in a half-moon crescent blade with a trifoil cross. The mace comes in the flanged style, and used by soldiers and knights. We are a ready army.

I went over to the walls to see the attacking force. The spears of the soldiers at the wall stood as straight as pine trees, "What do you suggest we do?" asked Claramond, she is my second-in-command. I trust her with my life. Her hair is as golden as a wheat field ripe for the harvest, and often styled in a ponytail. She wears very similar armor to me.

She wears a chainmail coif with an aventail and a simple pot helm. I looked to her, and looked at our soldiers. Brave they are, and ready for battle should our visitors wish it. The city is protected by a standing army of twenty-thousand with five-thousand knights and five hundred archers. These are young men and women who answered the call to arms.

"There appears to be a young War Maiden at their head, we will see what her intention is," I replied to Lady Claramond,

Lady Claramond is as well-endowed and buxom in the hips as I am, "I doubt it is noble," she said back, clutching her single-edged crescent battle axe.

Lady Claramond put on her helmet, and we rode ahead of the advanced guard, "Stay in formation!" she ordered to the infantry,

"I know this little cornflower, Ludmilla Laurie of Olmütz," I said, and walked up to her on horseback on my handsome black stallion

Lady Claramond advised me to be careful. There was a unison rattle of armor as our soldiers marched behind us. A few mounted knights carried the war banner: a dark blue flag with a gold border and noble griffon in the center, "Is this it, Lady Wilhelmina? The Defenders of the City of Acre? A rabble of ill-trained soldiers and a bunch of ragtag knights?"

"Aye, Lady Ludmilla, I thought I was facing a War Maiden, not a strutting peacock on a horse, so a War Maiden you will face," I replied, resting a hand on the pommel of my sword. She seemed offended. My soldiers clutched their weapons at the ready. The archers on the walls had their longbows ready to fire at my say. No doubt we are in for a fight


	2. Chapter 2

**Lord Marksman and Vanadis: Maiden of the East**

 **Chapter 2: Crusader (Saxon) (The Battle of Acre: Part 1)**

Mounted on my stallion, I inspected the soldiers. They are young like me, and they are men and women fighting alongside each other. I formed the soldiers in a bow formation to prevent a pincer attack from the forces of the fellow War Maiden. I did not need to say a speech for my soldiers. They know their sacred duty: for the city and for the people.

I looked off in the distance to see a first detachment of knights charging the desert plains. I would say their numbers are at least three hundred strong. We are outnumbered, but not outclassed. I had a few plans for this little cornflower. I looked to Lady Claramond, and made a light grin to her. My fellow knight grinned back. Our bond is sister strong.

"Are you with me on this?" I asked,

"Of course," she replied with a forearm shake.

Lady Claramond raised her fist to signal the soldiers. With the light wooden clattering of spears, our troops made way for our cavalry, "Hyah!" I belted to my stallion with a whip of the reigns. The knight wears a 'German Gothic Sallet and Bevor' as their helmet of choice and wear plate armor with heater shields and weapons. Such brave men and women

We had one hundred and fifty knights to serve as our first detachment. Their weapons were various from the lance to the sword, the battle-axe, the mace, the flail, and the war hammer. The hooves of our stallions pounded the desert sand as we charged the line, "Form up!" I bellowed, raising my fist to signal the knights to form into two single file lines

I gave the order once in range, "Divide!"

Lady Claramond would take the left flank, and I would take the right. I unsheathed my longsword, and the knights cried out their call to battle as I pointed the tip to the enemy. I moved the side to evade an enemy's lance, and struck him down unhorsed him with a slash of the blade, and the spilling of blood. The battle to defend our city has now begun.

Knights clashed with knights, and steel clashed with steel as enemy knights were thrown from their saddles, and lay dead on the sands. One should not simply charge aimlessly into the enemy ranks. You must know where to go, and find faults in the formation. Such knowledge can save your life. I saw Lady Claramond cleave a knight from crown to chin

"Fall back!" Lady Claramond called out

We had lost twenty knights to the first engagement. I want the enemy to charge us as we retreated back behind our ranks, "Chase down and cut down that filthy harlot, such a disgrace does not deserve to be a War Maiden!" Ludmilla called out in anger to her first detachment, little does that little cornflower know that her knights are heading for a trap.

I trust them to shoot straight, and avoid hitting our knights. For within the ranks of the infantry are archers with longbows. The arrows flew through the ranks, and cut down the enemy knights like a scythe in a field full of briars. The cries filled the dusty, windswept air. Ludmilla's first detachment had been annihilated with a few horses walking the plains

"I believe I struck a nerve," I teased,

"I would say more than that," replied Claramond

I could see her look of disapproval and disappointment from here. It seems our knights have dealt a blow to her pride. With her spear Lavias at the ready, she gave the order with a yell filled with rage, "ATTACK!" I had a plan to use the remaining knights seeing that Ludmilla is going to attack the main infantry force which will be under my command.

"Lady Claramond, take our remaining knights and exit the city through the back gate, at my signal, ride around our position, and flank them," I ordered to her. Lady Claramond grinned seeing the idea behind the plan. She touched her axe to her chest, and nodded a bow. I want Ludmilla to think that Lady Claramond doesn't have the stomach for battle.

"Archers! Draw!" I called out to them,

With a downward slash, I gave the order, "Loose!" the arrows from the longbows flew through the air and came down like rain. The longbow men and crossbowmen attack in a two-pronged barrage. The ranks of archers on the walls rain their arrows down on the back ranks while the archers in the infantry ranks shoot forward, and into the forward lines

The arrows filled the ranks with chaos, and the dead began to fall. We advanced under the cover of the arrows. After five salvos of arrows, the arrows on the ground unsheathed their swords, and joined the ranks of the infantry. Meanwhile as we advanced, the crossbowmen had their weapons ready and the long spears of the forward infantry went down.

"Crossbows, stay close in the ranks," I ordered,

The spears looked like the spines on the back of a hedgehog, pointed in defiance of Ludmilla. The banners of the many noble houses flew proudly in the breeze on the heads of lances and the fronts of shields and armor. All of the soldiers had families behind the city walls. I unsheathed my sword, and readied my shield as the enemy infantry drew near.

"Loose!" I commanded, but I did not have archers which confused the enemy. Instead, crossbowmen fired their weapons from between the ranks of the infantry. The first line of infantry fell to the crossbow bolts. The crossbowmen pulled back, and the spears came forward. The soldiers held their ground, and pushed on into the charging Olmutz soldiers.

"Frontline, PUSH!" I called out with my ready sword

Ludmilla was not phased, "We'll see who takes Acre,"

 **(Please read and review kindly.)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Lord Marksman and Vanadis: Maiden of the East**

 **Chapter 3: Crusader (Saxon) (The Battle of Acre: Part 2)**

A footsoldier can unhorse a knight while armed with a spear. It takes time, training, and a good eye to spot a fault in the armor. Every suit of armor, like a human being, has it's faults and weaknesses. Our infantry was holding back the onslaught on Olmutz infantry as spears ran through the armor and flesh of man and horse. Still, Ludmilla is not phased

The clash of steel meeting steel echoed on the high desert wind as well as Ludmilla's taunts, "Is this it? Is this all you can muster, Wilhelmina?!" Ludmilla questioned, it was then that I saw the look in Ludmilla's eyes as the infantry formation changed. She thought she had an upper hand against me. Now the footsoldiers began to encircle her army's sides

"Forward, my brave brothers and sisters!"

By the sweat of my brow and my skill with longsword and shield, I cut down every Olmutz soldier that was in my way. It did not take long for me to be unhorsed. As I fell to the sands, I tapped my stallion on the flanks for him to retreat. I continued the fight and led the Soldiers of Acre, the Order of the Griffon, to fight on against the besieging invaders.

I rolled away to avoid being skewered by a lance, and picked up my longsword and heater shield. Blood splattered as I made an upward slash, cutting through armor and flesh. A second tried to attack my rear, and I turned and slashed him across the face through the steel of his helmet. I blocked an axe blow with my shield, and stabbed him in the gut.

The longbow men and women defending the walls changed the arc of their arrow fire, and now started firing into the ranks of the enemy cavalry. I ran my blade into the chest of an Olmutz soldier, and chopped off his head as he fell to his knees, "Soldier, signal Lady Claramond, full attack!" I ordered to him in the middle of the chaos of battle. He nodded.

"What?! It's a trap!" blasted out Ludmilla,

A blue banner with a white horse was the signal for Lady Claramond. It seems Ludmilla's realization of my intention came too late as I heard a rumble of hooves in the distance, "Forward to Lady Wilhelmina, ATTACK!" yelled Lady Claramond with her battle axe pointed forward, leading her detachment of cavalry against the panic-stricken Olmutz knights.

Our cavalry rode down the enemy like grass. Lady Claramond's battle axe unhorsed, and killed the enemy wth ease. With this last phase of the battle plan, Lady Ludmilla's plans to take Acre have died among the fallen Olmutz army that now scatter the desert plains outside of the city walls. Those that escaped the slaughter fell back behind Lady Ludmilla

Lady Claramond's axe is a formidable weapon, but a simple weapon. Her favorite weapon in battle is forty-four and three-quarter inches long with a thirteen and a quarter inch edge. A trifoil cross is cut into the steel of the head. The weapon is mounted on a hardwood shaft and has a leather wrist loop. She also carries the same longsword type as I do.

"Well done," I praised to Lady Claramond,

Lady Claramond dismounted her stallion, "Anything for my sister," she said, greeting me with her embrace. Our army cheered, raising their weapons to the sky in victory against Olmutz. Lady Ludmilla did not retreat. Instead, she went up to Lady Claramond and I on her steed. Soldiers lowered their spears and other weapons, "hold, she means no harm"

The remaining soldiers did as ordered, and their spears and other weapons went back up to a standing position like a guard would at the city gates or rested on their shoulders. Our soldiers were battle worn. Many ate the food offered by those village women that did not take up arms. Those women brought food or were nurses tending to the wounded.

"I heard rumors of a War Maiden in Acre, and I wanted to see her skills for myself, and I must say I'm impressed, you hold as much care in yourself as you do in all your soldiers and knights," said Lady Ludmilla, I nodded a single nod and a light grin to the little War Maiden, "just answer me this, why don't you use your Dragon Gear?" she asked curiously

"The answer is quite simple," I replied to her,

"My word is my vow, Ludmilla, though I have power at my side and a Dragon Gear has chosen me, my flesh is mortal, just like you and me and all that are present, though I am a War Maiden, I am an equal among the footsoldiers and knights that serve with me, I am the ruler of Acre, I will care for her people as I will care for myself," I explained to her,

"I can see why you and Lady Sofy are such good friends," said Lady Ludmilla, so we settled for terms outside the walls. The fallen of Olmutz will be buried to the left to the field, and the fallen of Acre will be buried on the right, "it will not take long for news of this to reach Zhcted," she grumbled, now I am rather curious of there being other War Maidens

"Will you use your Dragon Gear?" she asked,

"In battle, when all hope seems lost," I replied, her army's wounded were being tended to by nurse maidens in their camp. I dare not attack a camp of wounded soldiers. Within a week, Lady Ludmilla pulled back her army and retreated to Olmutz. I cleaned my longsword of blood, and sheathed it. Hopefully another army will not threaten the city's peace

 **(Author's Note: Please rate and review kindly)**


End file.
